''On His Majesty's Service'' or ''On Her Majesty's Service'' (depending on the sex of the reigning monarch), is an official franking commonly seen on correspondence from government departments in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other countries that share the same monarch as their head of state (now known as

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

s). The expanded form, ''On His/Her Britannic Majesty's Service'' has been used for international correspondence, for example for mail to British diplomatic posts in other countries. In Canada, the initialism O.H.M.S. may be written on an envelope instead of using postage stamps for any letters being sent to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

or to any member of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

. Letters sent from

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

s may also bear the O.H.M.S. mark. The French translation ''Service de sa Majesté'' (''SDSM'') is also used. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

before Federation, letters in envelopes franked with the O.H.M.S. mark were exempt from postal fees.

In popular culture

*'' O.H.M.S.'' is a 1937 action comedy film. * The title of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

's 1963 James Bond novel ''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Her Majesty's Secret Service may refer to: * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (novel), a 1963 novel by Ian Fleming * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the novel ** ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (sou ...

'', along with its

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

, is a play on the term.

References

{{Reflist Postal systems Philatelic terminology

In popular culture

See also

References